Marianne Gingrich on Nightline: Newt Requested Divorce on the Phone

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The very worst of Marianne Gingrich’s accusations against her philandering ex-husband Newt had already been released online earlier in the day, but on Thursday night, the ABC News interview with the Republican candidate’s second wife reached a much wider audience. Marianne says that he asked for an open marriage after already carrying on an affair with Gingrich’s now-wife Callista (his third wife), which Marianne says she refused to accept. Marianne also says that Newt requested a divorce from her by telephone after she had been recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Gingrich divorced his first wife, Jackie, when she was battlingcancer.

Drudge Report, which scooped the news of the ABC News interview, wrote that ABCargued internally over the ethics of airing it so close to the South Carolina primary, which is on Saturday. Gingrich’s daughters also became involved, writing a letter to the network that questioned its decision to dig something up that’s happened so long ago, and at this time.

Spliced into the interview were bits from Thursday’s CNN debate in which Newt vehemently denied Marianne’s accusations. He also criticized the media and castigated the debate’s moderator, John King, for opening the questions with “trash like that.” We’ve gathered all the trash for you in the videobelow.